United for Iran Welcomes the Release of Iranian Political Prisoner Mahvash Sabet, Calls for the Release of Remaining Prisoners

SAN FRANCISCO – This week, Iranian authorities released Mahvash Sabet from prison almost ten years after arresting her for peaceful religious participation. Sabet, one of the Yaran-i-Iran (“friends of Iran”) and the so-called “Bahá’í Seven,” was arrested and imprisoned in March 2008. Two months later in May 2008, six other Baha’i practitioners were detained. They were convicted in trials that fall much short of international standards for fair tribunals and their convictions were widely condemned.

In reaction to the announcement, Firuzeh Mahmoudi, executive director of United for Iran, a Bay—Area NGO working to promote civil liberties and civil society in Iran, issued the following statement:

“Mahvash Sabet is just one of hundreds of political prisoners held by Iranian authorities who should have never spent a day behind bars. While we celebrate Sabet’s release, we cannot forget that there are more than 700 other people currently held behind bars in Iran, simply for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of speech, association or religion.. t is long past time that Iranian authorities grant fair trials to the remaining 722 other political prisoners – or release them immediately.

United for Iran leads Iran Prison Atlas (IPA) the largest database of Iran’s political prisoners. In 2016, United for Iran expanded the IPA to include related Iranian prisons and judges. In total, the Iran Prison Atlas includes over 2000 records, shining a bright light on Iran’s judiciary system and making sure that every time a courtroom in Iran is used to take the life or liberty of someone who simply exercised their basic rights, the injustice is documented for the world to know. The Iran Prison Atlas provides consistent, clear, and comprehensive documentation of human rights violations by the Iranian government,